Author Archives: Wilbur's Travels

Dancers at the Santiago de Cuba Carnival Museum

I Mean Business – Santiago de Cuba

Caribbeans have a reputation for being laid back, personified by reggae & weed. Cubans definitely buck that image as hardworking & resourceful citizens, although of course they love their music & dance. However Cuban dance is far more rigorous than its Jamaican counterpart. Salsa owes much of its roots to Cuba with rumba, cha-cha-cha, pachanga, mambo, and many […]

Islam & Arabia in Europe

Tracing Islamic architecture in Europe

Young Girl on a Train, Latakia, Syria

Syrian Girl

A beautiful young Syrian girl who enchanted me on a train from Aleppo to Latakia in 2009.

There’s No Place Like Away

Chronicling all my travels outside Europe up until the end of 2025

Bergen Weekend

I ❤️ Norway. After last year’s weekend in Stavanger it was Bergen’s turn this year.  I had been twice before in 1992 & 2022 but this did not detract from my latest visit, this time with my big sister. We packed a lot in.  Thursday afternoon This was spent reorienting and visiting the World Heritage […]

2025 Gone, 2026 Beckons

2025 was a big year for me as it contained a landmark birthday and my silver wedding anniversary. I was to spend my birthday on a ship on the Caribbean Sea. 2025 January Caribbean Cruise For the first time I took a cruise in order to get some winter sunshine. The 2,000 passenger Marella Voyager […]

Crossing the Equator

The equator is straddled by thirteen countries. One of them is Uganda, which is where I crossed the dividing line between the hemispheres overland for the first time in 2025. Can you name the other twelve equatorial countries? Reveal at the end of this post. Kayabwe, Uganda We stopped off on our journey to Entebbe […]

Making Tracks in North America – Part 2, Canada

Having spent a wonderful four days in Montreal celebrating 25 years of marriage, it was time to head off again. Montreal French speaking Montreal charmed us with highlights including an anniversary meal in Restaurant Bonaparte (unashamedly French but with friendly waiters), a helicopter ride over the city straddling the Lawrence River, and a trip to […]

Notre Dame de Paris

The wonderfully restored Notre Dame is a must see for anybody visiting Paris.

Making Tracks in North America – Part One, New York to Montreal

With hundreds of overseas train journeys under my belt, it was time to experience Amtrak & Via Rail for the first time. My route was to be New York Penn Station to Montreal, Montreal to Quebec City, back to Montreal for a connection to Toronto, Toronto to Niagara Falls Ontario, and finally back to New […]